In various mobile communications networks, mobile subscriber location registers (e.g., home subscriber servers (HSSs), subscriber profile repositories (SPRs), and home location registers (HLRs)) are nodes that may store location information about mobile subscribers. For example, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) network may include an HSS and/or an SPR for storing location information and/or other information about mobile subscribers. In another example, a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network or an IS-41 network may include an HLR for storing location information and/or other information about mobile subscribers.
Sometimes a mobile subscriber location register may experience problems. For example, a software or hardware malfunction in the register may cause the register to reboot, restart, or otherwise attempt to recover. Conventionally, when a mobile subscriber location register is attempting a recovery procedure, the recovering mobile subscriber location register may send a reset message to nodes serving mobile subscribers (e.g., mobility management entities (MMES) and/or mobile switching centers (MSCs)) in the home network. Upon receipt of the reset message, each serving node may notify the mobile subscriber location register as to which subscribers are currently being served by the responding node.
Problems can arise if relevant nodes are not contacted when the mobile subscriber location register is recovering. For example, a mobile subscriber location register may have no way of knowing which nodes residing outside of its home network are serving its subscribers, and consequently may not send reset messages to these foreign nodes. Without a reset message, a foreign node may not notify the mobile subscriber location register as to which subscribers are currently being served by the responding node, thereby preventing the mobile subscriber location register from reconstructing location information for roaming subscribers.
Accordingly, in light of these shortcomings, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing enhanced mobile subscriber location register fault recovery.